bRENa pt1

“Put it away. All the important people you tweet with are right here,” Andrew teased.

“Seriously,” Ashanty added. “Who else could you be tweeting with right now?”

Branli smiled and blushed; or turned a darker brown as Andrew put it. He put his phone away to finish his texts later. He wasn’t tweeting. He was keeping Devon up to speed

The group enjoyed their sweet frozen yogurt on a hot day. They claimed a table outside the store, talking loudly and laughing.

“So what brings this whole ‘abduction’ into play?” Janelle inquired. “You going up to Fresno and then where?”

Ashanty and Andrew exchanged a glance and then turned to Branli. It was the question everyone on the trip was asking. Branli’s reluctance and vague answers only spurred the curiosity. He was terrible at hiding things.

“Just thought it was time for a break from it all,” Branli answered simply.

“I thought you were out of vacation days,” Andrew stepped in. He remembered Branli having told him he no longer had days available. He was lying.

“I’m basically on stress leave,” Branli blurted out, tired of having to explain himself. “I’m out of vacation time yes, but I filed for stress leave and… that’s what I’m using.”

Branli’s tone had been firm, enough to stop the escalating inquisition. It was clear he wasn’t revealing everything and yet not ready to divulge the details. This made Andrew and Ashanty a bit uneasy, after all, they were along for this trip.

Andrew had picked up some clothes, enough changes for just about any event that may present itself. The luggage was bigger than Ashanty’s, something Branli immediately mocked.

“Dude, you have more clothes and stuff than a girl!” Branli pointed out.

“You’re being hurtful,” Andrew responded. “Besides, you never know if I’ll need it.”

Branli tossed it in the back seat immediately behind the driver’s, his trunk still didn’t open. Ashanty had already made camp behind Andrew’s seat. It was better that way anyway, easier for both Ashanty and Branli to talk.

The trip up north was quiet, Ashanty and Andrew both sleeping more than half the way up. Just as well, Branli wasn’t in the mood to talk. A state of rumination kept him silent and melancholy. Branli’s mind kept reminding him that Devon would contact him soon with more details.